To Go Wherever the Wind Takes You
by Kuronohime
Summary: Re-imagination of Pocahontas with reversed genders. Aboard a ship with Jolene Smith who braves the Atlantic ocean in search of the New World. In the yet untamed wilderness of Virginia, North America, she meets a Powhatan savage, Pallaton. A forbidden relationship buds in the heart of harsh woodlands.


The sea sickness had subsided after the first week on the riptides but Jolene still eagerly wished to stand on an unswaying platform. According to their Captain, they should have arrived Tsenacommacah, better known to the white colonials as Jamestown, some days ago. Unfortunately the weather conditions at the sea worked against their intended route. The Captain was forced to sail around the storm and add to the duration of their voyage. But he reassured everyone that they were in no danger of running out of food or water.

Jolene was sitting on a crate and trying desperately to see a glimpse of landline over the ship's board. But the horizon was a solid mass of endless hues of grey and blue. The young woman sighed and tried to rub some warmth into her bony shoulders. The sea did not become her. Every day she woke up cold, everything was covered in moisture and all the food she ate had a tangy saltiness to them. She swore to herself, once she returned to England from this trip, she'd never sail again!

" _What are you doing there?_ " A male voice came behind her. Jolene turned around to see her father, Byford Smith, who was a petite and kind-looking man in his late thirties. Byford was a scholar and an educated man. He had been asked to join the voyage to the province of Virginia since he was one of the handful of people who studied Algonquian, language spoken by the natives of British colonial areas. Byford was also fluent in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Gaelic and often practiced talking to his daughter – Jolene was growing up to be quite the polyglot in her father's ilk.

" _I wish to see land. Captain say we are close now_." Jolene answered in Algonquian. She wasn't quite as fluent as her father even though she had been his study partner since she was 7 years old. But in her defense, she had already mastered fluent French and Spanish even though she was only 14 years old. She was even little bit dappling with Greek in her spare time.

" _Captain says_ , dear." Her father corrected her with a gentle smile on his face as he sat down next to her on the crate. Byford wore a shawl he graciously removed from his shoulders to drape it around his daughter's. "You seem to be in more need of this than I." He said, this time in English. Jolene tightly clung to the piece of cloth that still had the lingering warmth of his body.

"I hope there was an improved way to travel long distances. At least a more hastier one. " The young woman sourly mused. Her father chuckled "You mean a flying apparatus?"

"Yes" She replied "Like those devices in the books at Royal Armouries."

Her father laughed again and noted that he probably wouldn't live old enough to see the first man, or woman, he stressed and gave a meaningful gaze at her daughter, flying. But he sure would like to.

The pair sat in silence for a while, marveling the demure sky that looked exactly the same as the day they left England. The sky was clear albeit the air was thick with humidity and their ship glided trough patches of mist.

It was rather unheard of that a woman was part of an expedition ensemble, but since she was the only living family of Byford Smith, and very capable for her age – more so than many men, the Virginia Company of London had allowed her to company her father as his page on the voyage. Byford Smith was an asset the Company could not afford to go without and had agreed to his terms which otherwise were very reasonable.

It was late spring with a hint of earthy summer making its way to the sunlight and surrounding nature. They had chosen to travel at that particular juncture since the travel would be much easier when it was not too cold nor hot. Late spring usually offered the most stable weather conditions save for occasional outpours. It was also the best time to observe the wildlife and the natives.

"Oh, father, look!" Jolene yelped with unconstrained excitement and pointed at the sky. A large, black-winged bird glided through the blue tapestry of the horizon. It was a great black-backed gull, a very sizable marine bird which was also native to the shores of England. Which meant that the shores of Virginia must lay ahead.

When the bird produced a distinctive high-pitched squark and flew over the mast of the ship it was almost a cue for the ship's watch to yell that land had been sighted.

Jolene ran to the edge of the ship and squeezed the ledge with both of her hands and smiled. The air was already starting to smell different.

 _Virginia_.

* * *

 _A/N: This is a short intro for the story. I have attempted to be as historically accurate as background research has allowed me to (never used Google as much as with this story!). But I do ask for your forgiveness for any factual errors that might've occurred._

 _This is a more of a nod to the Disney version and will be "romanticized" take on history. But unlike the Disney version, this will be more grounded in reality as in there won't be any singing trees or self-aware raccoons..._

 _As you might have picked up, when characters speak in a language other than English, the dialogue appears in italics. Since I did not have the time to actually study Algonquian, I am sorry if the dialogue does a poor job in representing the language! ^^;_


End file.
